However, when looking over the file created, neither VLC nor ffmpeg could determine a duration. I used ffmpeg to create a new file (ffmpeg -i old.mkv -c copy new.mkv), and when it got to about the 1 hour 50 minute mark in the stream copy, it printed the following error:

It’s possible that I ran out of space during recording, so it behoves me to make sure my disks are more clear — hopefully the process of migrating to a combined fileserver will help there! — before I start recording.

Fortunately, I also stream to Twitch and so I could create a ‘highlight’ of the latter part of gameplay- about 45 minutes’ worth. The quality isn’t as good (max bitrate 3500kbit), but it’s better than nothing. So that it can be seamlessly appended, I decided to upscale the size from 720p to 1080p using ffmpeg:

(Conversion in progress! Using -vf scale=1920x1080:flags=lanczos to scale and -crf 20 to ensure quality stays reasonable)

After that, it should be a simple matter of using the concat demuxer, assuming the files are similar enough (both are pixel format yuvj420p)– I previously had issues when trying to create an auto-highlighter/clip creator that minimised re-encoding.

I’ve been posting a fair number of videos to another blog for the folk I play games with (including the other MIA author of posts on this blog Kenny). It’s a good way to relive some moments and also a way for me to practice my cutting and splicing skills.

Long story short, I encoded an updated version of a video I created about three and a half years ago. The old one was small resolution and tiny bitrate. This version is full (source) resolution and a relatively insane bitrate.